The App For Suspicious Mac Users

If you’re a pragmatic but trusting Mac user then you don’t worry much about installing apps on your Mac.

Apple even makes it easy by cultivating application standards on the Mac App Store to give you a bit more security. For Mac users who want to see what’s in a file before actually opening it, there’s the built-in Quick Look feature in the Finder. What about Quick Look for apps to be installed?

Suspicious Minds

Yes, inquiring minds want to know what’s going on inside their Macs, but more especially about what’s going into the Mac before it gets there.

Quick Look (select a file in the Finder and press the Space Bar on the keyboard) in OS X lets you view the contents of most files without opening an app to view or use the file.

For example, if the file is a photo, Quick Look in the Finder lets you view the file without opening iPhoto or whatever other graphic app you use.

What about files you’ve downloaded from the internet to install an application to your Mac? For that you can use the Suspicious Package app. It’s actually a Mac Plugin for Quick Look which lets you examine the contents of an installer package from within the Finder– without opening it up first.

Clever, no?

Once installed, Suspicious Package becomes a Quick Look Plugin so it’s available from the File menu, or, as always, just press the Space Bar to view the contents of the package.

Suspicious Package won’t open every folder within an installer package, but an extra click or two will do just that; all the way down to Apple’s Root certificate (if there is one).

At that point, you’re on your own and need to put on your big boy pants, tinfoil pyramid hat, lock the doors, turn off the lights, and dig out your OS X Packages for Dummies book. Why? Because digging through installer packages is a bit geeky and not the domain of the average Mac user.

The Suspicious Package FAQ page is a big help, especially if you’re suspicious of Suspicious Package itself. Not to worry, though. We live in a world where everyone is out to get you, so having a bit of paranoia is a good thing.

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About Jeffrey Mincey

As a Mac, Windows, and Linux system administrator in Atlanta, Georgia, I've used Macs for almost 30 years (mostly late at night). Read more of my articles here. Check out my Mac tips, tricks, and app reviews at Bohemian Boomer.

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